Behind Bars

Crime and punishment is the theme of Behind Bars – a night of three short plays about the crisis in Britain’s prisons. Written by BOLDtext playwrights Liz John, Nicola Jones and Tim Stimpson (writer of Helen’s trial in The Archers) the show is on for one night only at The Birmingham REP on November 24th. The director is the BBC’s award-winning Jessica Dromgoole

The show will be followed by a short debate: DOES PRISON WORK? with panellists from both sides of the justice system.

Nicola Jones who is curating the event says, “We lock up more offenders than any other Western European country, yet UK re-offending rates are sky high – a massive 60% in Birmingham for those serving sentences under 12 months. With under-staffing, over-crowding, spiralling rates of assault, self-harm and suicide, substance misuse and mental illness what can our prison system realistically achieve? What are the alternatives?”

Nicola’s own play, A Monster In The Room brings a victim and an offender together. Can a simple face-to-face meeting really help repair the harm?

Tickets are free but the playwrights will rattle a bucket at you on the way out. Everybody is welcome – but these script-in-hand new writing nights are very popular so it’s always best to reserve your ticket in advance. It’s free to book then pay-what-you-can on the night…